Wednesday, November 30, 2016

When you know you're only spending Php390 a day on internet access, you can Instagram, Google Duo, Whatsapp and Viber without the worry of bill shock when you get home, diba.

This is gets all the more sulit if you travel with a group, because you can share the Smart Travel Wifi with up to 5 devices. So what, that's like Php78/day na lang if you're sharing with 4 other travel companions.

Just make sure you stick to the person keeping the pocket wifi because you won't get Internet stray off too far. On the upside, you know that person is nearby when your signal gets strong. That happened to me when I was traveling with my friend Emily and we were shopping at Marshalls HomeGoods in New York. I thought I had lost her because I took too long browsing the crafts section. So I just decided to fall in line at the cashier. Soon enough, my wifi which had disappeared suddenly popped up again, and I knew she was on her way to meet me in line, heeheehee.

Btw, this is open to both Smart and Non-Smart subscribers. Its for all travelers!

Sunday, November 27, 2016

If there’s one thing I learned about skin care regimens, it’s that it can’t be static.

It should evolve as you age, and more especially when situations change - from local weather fluctuations to moving countries, and hormonal changes like pregnancy and menopause. Although, I can’t personally attest to the latter yet, heehee.

What I know for a fact is that with my desire to manage and improve my #SkinHealth, my skin care regimen has changed so many times, from when I was in my teens, to now that I am 40.

In high school, I started with being a soap and water kind of girl to washing with Cetaphil when soap started to feel too harsh for my face.

I began doing the Cleanse-Tone-Moisturize routine in my early 20s, which I coupled with the Oil Cleansing Method. Then using essences became an extra step and by my early 30s, I switched to a thicker moisturizer because of the harsh sun and winter weather in the city we lived in then.

Of course, I still go to my dermatologist for regular cleansing facials, peels, prodding and pricking.

There have been times when I would also take Biotin, a vitamin that helps thicken hair and is good for the skin and nails. But I don’t take it for prolonged periods.

It’s practically a career just taking care of my skin, and I super envy girls who have low maintenance skin care regimens.

So I know for a fact that for those of us who have or have had pimple and other skin issues, finding a skin care routine can be extra challenging. There’s a lot of trial and error involved, and it can be costly trying a product out, finding it doesn’t work and then moving on to the next one.

The great thing is, there are beauty vitamins now that deal with pimples at the source. I’ve mentioned Lactezin in an earlier post.

Lactezin has Lactoferrin (antibacterial milk-derived protein), Vitamin E, and Zinc, which combined together, have anti-microbial, anti-inflammatory, and anti-oxidant properties. It deals with pimples from within, for clearer, smoother, less oily skin with finer pores. Wish this was around during my time!

If you still haven’t figured out the best skin care regimen for your skin type, it’s time to start thinking about it. Whether you become one of the lucky soap and water kind of girls or you decide to embark on a Korean pop star-style 16-step routine, the choice is yours. No judgment here!

As long as you have a fortified regimen built from a solid skin care routine plus beauty vitamins, blemish-free, healthy, glowing skin can be yours. Take it seriously and you'll see.

Thursday, November 03, 2016

You know your boy isn’t a baby anymore when he starts to smell, well like a boy. Heehee.

It’s when the pawis isn’t sweet and you start thinking twice about kissing his feet that signals that he has grown from that babbling toddler into this independent little guy with a mind of his own.
Which isn’t a bad thing really.

Seeing Xavi want to explore things on his own, being unafraid to try new things, even doing something as simple as wanting to order pizza on his own, it gives me a sense of pride you know?

So when Xavi and I went on a one-on-one date to the Safeguard Adventure Camp at Exploreum a few weeks back, it was much an afternoon of discovery for him as it was for me.

For one, he may start off unsure and wanting my help in the beginning, like on our first activity where he had to lace up a giant pair of shoes (which was understandable really, those laces were long and heavy!)

But as we moved on from one activity to the next, and he had warmed up to the new environment, and the strangers we were with, he would go off to lead the way, and decide on what we’d do next by himself.

Like follow instructions to reach the police station:

Check out an airplane:

Even sign his own name on a clipboard to claim his Safeguard backpack that had their new Body Wash and loofah.

Which he proudly showed to Achi Berry, Tepper and his Dada when we got home.

He’s so cute pa because he insists on using the loofah and his own bottle from Adventure Camp, even if we have this big bottle of Lavender scented Safeguard Body Wash for Dada and the big kids to use.

Yes, Berry and Xavi have been using Safeguard Body Wash even before Adventure Camp. As with the bar soap which I have been using for over two decades now, it has the same germ killing protection, but Safeguard Body Wash has the same pH as water, so it won’t strip skin of moisture. It’s guaranteed to be gentle even on their skin.

The kids love the scent and how it lathers, it’s just double great to know it gets rid of odor causing bacteria too. So I can still sniff that squeaky clean smell even if they are busy, active, sweaty kids na.

For more about Safeguard’s new line of germ killing products, visit www.safeguard.ph/en-ph.